Parle Agro is gearing up to take on competition in the beverage category this summer with Shah Rukh Khan as the new brand ambassador for its flagship brand Frooti.
Marking an investment of Rs 40 crore, the Mumbai-based beverage major also plans to ride on the IPL this season to stand out among MNC brands such as Maaza (Coca Cola) and Slice (Pepsi) in the fruit drink category where it continues to be a dominant player with a 85 per cent volume share.
At the same time, Frooti is enhancing its distribution base by almost 30-40 per cent by reaching out to new segments such as HORECA (hotels, restaurants, catering) and also doubling the number of franchisee appointed factories.
“This is the first time that we have appointed a national brand ambassador as we want the advertisement to cut through and build scale for Frooti. We expect to grow at 50 per cent this year with Shah Rukh Khan on board. We have appointed him for a period of one year,” said Nadia Chauhan, Chief Marketing Officer, Parle Agro. At present, mango drinks comprise 70 per cent of the Rs 4,500-crore fruit drink category.
Frooti continues to be the largest brand in Parle Agro’s portfolio with sales turnover of Rs 1,500 crore this fiscal. The beverage major is also gearing up for increased competition during the summer season. “IPL is getting expensive but we were there last year and intend being there this season a well with our beverage campaigns,” said Chauhan. Frooti’s new campaign has been created by Creative Land Asia, a Mumbai-based independent creative agency.
Introducing the drink in returnable glass bottles (RGB) last year has also helped increase its distribution franchise. Jagdeep Kapoor, a former Director of Parle Agro and at present Managing Director, Samsika Marketing Consultants, said, “The number of MNC players has not increased in the mango drink category from the time Frooti was launched in 1985 as the first tetra pack mango drink. Returnable glass bottles (RGB) has suddenly increased its distribution franchise and it will continue to hold fort against the MNC players with a dominant share in the category.”